         Curios 1-9 The work above was done over the last two months. Many of the prints were inspired by my ideas about cabinets of curiosities and dioramas in a natural history museum. Clicking on the images should enlarge them to see details. It took me a bit to sew the pieces, mount them and photograph them. That is always the part that I dread doing. In reality though it cleans everything up and makes the work presentable.
In looking over my journal/studio notes, I can see that the biggest leap I likely made with the collages was with the last three pieces. Making all of the squares the same was an idea I got from another artist, Holly Hughes. At first I just liked the cohesive look of her pieces in which all of the squares were the same size. As I put my own collages together, I could see that having the same size squares became a unifying element, at least to my eye. The design creates a kind of stability I believe and also a kind of tension. I feel this way too about Amish quilts with their solid backgrounds and tightly controlled patterns with bright vivid colors. Organization really matters. I am not saying though that my other collages with their different size squares and rectangles aren't organized. On the contrary, I work really hard to get them organized! It's just in a different way I think. I try for a more rotational quality to things where my eye follows the pieces around the piece. In any case, I plan on using this same size square design again. I feel like it's a great opportunity for variation and repetition of pattern, scale, and color. Something else that has been bouncing around in my head is this: scale of print. How to vary this? The printing space of the gelli plate is 8" x 10". There isn't much room there to maneuver. I have experimented with different sized shapes such as circles; making the small, medium and large. There is also the space between objects to contend with. I have also tried different sized circles on one page. The impact comes when the finished paper gets cut up. This variable is one that I am still contending with. And probably will be for awhile to come. I mentioned my journal/studio notes earlier. I use my journal to record ideas and make scribbles and notes about what I am working on. I go back and read through it when I am writing a post or when I am feeling disconnected from my art, like I am right now. The notes do help to pull me back in a bit. I also reorganized my display wall so that this year's work is available to look at rather than last year's work. I don't have enough room for both even though there is real benefit in looking at what I did last year. Those pieces aren't put away but just are sitting on the floor awaiting perusal. Lastly, it feels stupid talking about my art considering what is happening in our country right now. Nevertheless, my life has to go on. It can't be on hold for three more years can it? My art is a big part of my life so I will write about it and think about it and try to get on with things. Thanks for reading and looking. Libby [email protected] |
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February 2026
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